Intel CEO to retire
SAN FRANCISCO — Intel CEO Paul Otellini dropped a bombshell on the company’s board of directors last week, telling them in private that he plans to retire from the world’s largest maker of microprocessors in May. Otellini’s move comes at a time when Intel faces a shaky economy and a mobile gadget craze that is eating away at demand for its PC chips —and it gives the company just six months to find a new leader.
Intel’s board expected the 62-year-old Otellini to remain chief executive until the company’s customary retirement age of 65. The announced his impending departure on Monday.
“The decision was entirely Paul’s,” said Intel spokesman Paul Bergevin. “The board accepted his decision with regret.”
Otellini will be ending a nearly 40-year career with Intel, including an eight-year stint as CEO by the time he leaves. He joined the Santa Clara, Calif. company after graduating from the nearby University of California at Berkeley and worked his way up the ranks before succeeding Craig Barrett as CEO in May 2005.
“It’s time to move on and transfer Intel’s helm to a new generation of leadership,” Otellini said in a statement.
In another statement, Intel Chairman Andy Bryant praised Otellini for leading the company through “challenging times and market transitions.”
Intel’s board plans to consider candidates inside and outside the company as it searches for Otellini’s successor. Otellini will be involved in the search.
